Mathematicians collaborate more with their foreign fellow workers than
researchers in other branches of science. In 1990, the authors of one in
six of all mathematics publications came from more than one country.
A survey carried out by the French national research centre found that
such 鈥榗ross-border鈥� publications increased from 4 per cent of all research
in 1973 to 10 per cent in 1990. 鈥楳aths comes first in absolute terms but
don鈥檛 forget it is a small, close-knit circle,鈥� says Jean-Francois Miquel,
who led the research. Other disciplines showing a steady increase in international
collaboration are earth and space sciences, and physics.
Miquel draws a distinction between 鈥榮pontaneous鈥� collaboration between
scientists and formal international research programmes set up by governments.
鈥業t has yet to be proven, but it seems that in the face of severe competition,
people seek out the researcher in the world whose work can push their own
findings ahead by a few months,鈥� he says.
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